Away Into The Stars
by shiki94
Summary: Cody Rhodes finally did it. After asking for, and being granted his release, he was finally free to make his own way in whatever he chose to do next. Now, all he has left to do is break the news to his girlfriend. **Based around the events of this weekend with Cody asking for and being granted his release**


***sighs* So, as I'm sure a lot of you guys already know, Cody Rhodes (AKA Stardust) asked for his release from the WWE and was granted it. Now, as one of his biggest fans, this bums me out quite a bit...mostly because, when you read just why it was that he asked for his release, it really hurts to read. Quite a bit. =( ...But, I know that now that Cody's gone from the WWE, he's free to do whatever he wants with his life, and, whatever he decides to do next, as a fan, I support it no matter what it is. And, to help me with my grieving(ish) period of Cody departing, I decided to write this one-shot to show how my head OC has been handling the news (Surprisingly, she's been handling it very well.).**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the wrestlers used and mentioned in this one-shot. They are the property of themselves, the WWE, TNA, and the other promotions they wrestle for. I only my OC Alex Hardy, her daughter Isabelle Hardy, and the ideas going into this. (I should also point out Mary Williams is the OC of my good friend StarshineGoomba, and is being used with her permission. Since this was a Cody fic, I decided to include Mary since A) StarshineGoomba is just as big a fan of Cody's as I am and B) Mary was pretty much insisting that I include her.)**

It was done. WWE Superstar-or, rather, as of now, _former WWE Superstar_ -Cody Rhodes had been debating on doing this for a while now, but, after talking about this with his older brother, Dustin Runnels, better known as Goldust, and his friend who was like another sister to him, Mary Williams, Cody decided that this would be the best thing to do. After all, with so many different things happening lately, the second generation wrestler felt it would be best to leave when he could. _'Plus, it's in_ my own _best interests that I get out while I can,'_ Cody thought, a note of resentment lingering in his thoughts on the Sunday he was granted his release.

Looking over to see the slight scowl on Cody's face, Mary rested a hand on her friend's shoulder and said "Don't look so upset, Cody. Look, it's all done now. You can go on with your life now."

"I know, Mare, I know. It's just...I didn't want to leave like this," Cody said, looking down at his hands. "I thought I was actually going to be able to be in something that would actually let me make a change in my career. Guess that was just wishful thinking."

"I was thinking so, too. But, I guess once the almighty Powers That Be get an idea in that one brain they share, nothing can stop them," Mary said. An idea crossing her mind, Mary asked "You think Alex has heard yet?"

Hearing Mary mention the name of his girlfriend, Cody said "Knowing Alex, she probably does. If she hasn't seen talk of it on Twitter, chances are either Matt and Jeff have let her know or she's had fans ask her what she thinks on the matter."

"I'd agree there. I just can't help but wonder what her reaction to all of this is," Mary said. "Hopefully, she hasn't flipped anything over at her house yet."

Laughing at what Mary said, Cody said "She probably hasn't. After all, she's got our daughter to keep her calm, so I think she'll be fine."

"You're probably right," Mary said. "Speaking of my goddaughter, I haven't seen her since her first birthday party. What do you say to taking a trip to North Carolina to visit Alex and little Izzy?"

"Sounds more than great to me," Cody said, rising from the chair he was sitting in with Mary following suit. "At least now that I'm no longer working here, I can spend some time with my daughter."

"That's the spirit, Coddles," Mary said, smiling as she and Cody headed off to their hotel rooms to get their luggage. "Who knows? Maybe you'll take a liking to being a stay-at-home dad. Ted loves it a lot, so I'm sure you'll like it too."

Laughing at what Mary said, Cody said "Well, Ted's not _exactly_ a stay-at-home dad since he travels with you a lot at times, but I get what you mean. And, who knows? Maybe I will."

As the two legacy wrestlers walked on and talked until they got to their rooms and got their luggage, Cody could only imagine just how him breaking the news of his release to his girlfriend would go. For all he knew, maybe Alex would take the news well. After all, since it was in _his_ best interest, Alex would _have_ to be open to hearing him out about it.

...

The news still felt like it hit Alex Hardy like a speeding truck when she checked her Twitter and got message after message from fans asking about how she felt about Cody being released from the WWE and seeing many different wrestling news outlets report the news. The brunette knew that her boyfriend hadn't been all that happy with his standing in the company, but...she never knew that Cody had been contemplating leaving. But...then again, it's not like Alex could blame him; after all, ever since the passing of his dad, WWE Legend and Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, Cody seemed to be stuck in a bit of career stasis seeing as how he was still wrestling under his self-created gimmick Stardust, even though he wasn't feuding with his older brother. _'Maybe all of that is what helped get the ball rolling for Cody. Not that I blame him. I'd want to leave too if it felt like I wasn't really getting anywhere,'_ Alex thought as she played with her daughter that Monday.

Looking up from her teddy bear and seeing the far-off look on her mother's face, 1 year old Isabelle Hardy asked "Ma?"

Blinking as she snapped out of her thought bubble, Alex asked "Hmm? What is it, baby?"

"Ma sa'?" Isabelle asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No, baby. No, I'm not sad. Mommy's just thinking about some stuff," Alex said with a bit of a laugh.

"Wha' Ma think abou'?" Isabelle asked, toddling over to her mother.

"Just about your daddy," Alex said as she scooped her daughter into her arms and sat her in her lap. "I think Daddy's going to need hugs when we see him."

"I hug Da'!" Isabelle chirped.

"I'm sure you will, my little Frizzy Izzy," Alex said, laughing a bit as she ruffled her daughter's curly hair, taking care not to hit Isabelle's hearing aids, and dropping a kiss on the toddler's forehead as Isabelle giggled at this. Hearing knocking at the door, Alex said "There's someone at the door. You want to come with Mommy to open the door?"

"Mmhmm!" Isabelle said, nodding her head.

Smiling at her daughter, Alex pushed herself up from the floor, keeping a firm hold on Isabelle, and headed to the front door. Looking out the peephole and seeing the visitors that she and her daughter had, Alex let out a laugh before opening the door and letting her guests into the house. "You know, you two _could've_ called ahead of time and let me know that you guys were stopping by for a visit."

"We could've, but we wanted to give you a good surprise," Mary said as she stepped inside the Hardy house. "After the weekend we've all had, we figured we could use _something_ good."

"Can't argue with that, Mare," Alex said as she hugged the older brunette. After Mary had come inside, Alex watched as her boyfriend made his way up the short flight of stairs. Once Cody stepped inside and closed the door behind him, Alex said "Hey, Cody."

"Hey, Alex," Cody said as he stood in front of his girlfriend. Planting kisses on first Alex's cheek and then on Isabelle's forehead, Cody said "I'm guessing you've heard the news by now."

"Yeah. I have," Alex said, with a curt nod. She wanted to say something else to her boyfriend, but... Well, what could she _possibly_ say to her boyfriend while she was still holding their daughter?

Seeing that Alex had something on her mind, Mary asked "Alex, how about I take Izzy for a bit and play with her some?"

"Sure, Mare," Alex said, smiling over at the older brunette. Looking down at her daughter, Alex said "Izzy, Mommy and Daddy have to talk a bit. Can you play with Auntie Mary a bit?"

"Mmhmm!" Isabelle chirped excitedly as she nodded her head.

Handing Isabelle off to Mary and watched the two disappear down the hall to Isabelle's nursery room with Mary talking baby talk to the toddler, Alex turned to her boyfriend and said "So. You're released from the WWE. I'll bet that's a load off your back."

"Yeah, it is," Cody said, nodding his head. "Honestly, I don't know why I haven't done this sooner."

Letting out a bit of a laugh, Alex said "I'm probably sure some of the recently released have been thinking the same thing, babe."

"Yeah, probably," Cody said with a laugh of his own as he and Alex headed into the living room and, stepping around some of Isabelle's toys, took a seat on the couch.

Settling into the couch next to her boyfriend, Alex asked "So...if you don't mind me asking, what made you want to leave? You seemed pretty okay with how things were going, so...what changed in you?"

"I think it was all just in how things were going for me," Cody said, raking a hand through his short dark brown hair. "It's like...I felt like I had no real say in anything revolving around me and my gimmick."

"Well, babe, I think that's pretty much what "Creative" is there for," Alex said, using air quotes around "Creative". "They're there to at least hear us suggest things and, if it's something that'll work for them, they'll go for it. And, if not, they'll tell us they'll consider it, but ultimately, they just ignore the idea."

Laughing at how Alex described how Creative worked, Cody said "Can't say that I disagree there. It just sucked, you know? I mean...I had ideas that could've really worked for me and for them. So, why the hell wouldn't they consider any of them?"

"Who knows, babe?" Alex asked. "But, just look at things this way. At least now, you've got complete control over whatever it is you do next."

"That is true," Cody said, nodding in agreement.

"I guess the big question now is...What _are_ you going to do next?" Alex asked.

"Haven't really thought that through yet. I mean, wrestling is in my blood, and I _would_ like to try my skills somewhere else, but...I'm thinking that maybe I should take some time away from the ring and focus on other stuff, like acting, maybe," Cody said, throwing potential ideas out there.

"Those all actually sound like pretty great ideas. I especially like the idea of you going into acting. I'm sure you'd kill whatever role you'd get," Alex said, smiling. "Just hearing you talk about this is making me wonder if I should take off from the WWE and try my skills in another promotion. I'm sure it'd be fun to try working in some of the other promotions Matt and Jeff tell me about. ...Oh. Look at me, stealing your thunder."

"No, you're not stealing it at all, darlin'," Cody said, laughing a bit as he threw an arm around Alex's shoulders. "If anything, you're thinking about trying to do something different. And, honestly, I support you if you want to try another promotion on for size. There's a world of other promotions out there, so I say go for it. Just know that if you do go wrestle somewhere else, just know that you've got two cheerleaders in me and our daughter."

"Thanks, babe," Alex said, leaning into Cody. "And, the same goes with me for you. Whatever it is that you decide to go for and do next, just know that you've got cheerleaders here in me and our daughter. We've got your back no matter what you go for."

"Thanks, darlin'," Cody said, pulled Alex close to him and kissed his girlfriend. After pulling away from the younger brunette and just opting to sit on the couch with Alex and watch what Alex had playing on the TV, Cody let his talk with Alex replay back through his thoughts. Just hearing his girlfriend actively voice her support of his plans going ahead, Cody started to feel a bit of a hopeful swell inside as far as just what his next step was going to be. Even he didn't know just where the road ahead of him was going to go, but, wherever the road was going to take Cody next, he knew he wouldn't be alone because he'd have his girlfriend, his daughter, his family and his friends there to support him through every step of his new journey.

 **And, so ends Away Into The Stars. I will admit that my grieving(ish) period is now behind me, and my muses and other OCs have moved ahead in their own lives. And, it's like I mentioned above, as a fan of Cody's, I support him in whatever he does next in his life. (And, if you guys haven't read just what lead to Cody to asking for his release, I actually highlighted bits and pieces of what he talked about, so, hopefully that'll give you guys the gist of what he said...and if not, he's voiced just what went into this and shared on his new Twitter.) *clears throat* Now that that's done, I hope you guys that chose to give this a read enjoyed it. Don't forget to R &R please. =)**


End file.
